The Old Way
by Tuah Kayne
Summary: Before the era of quirks, myths of men and women performing wonders that are borderline impossible and unnatural has always exist. What if they are not a myth? What if Izuku obtain them? Can he be a hero? Or will he be something else?
1. Chapter 1

While he was lying down on the ground, staring at the night sky, broken and bleeding, Izuku Midoriya ponders, what deity did he anger in his previous life for him to suffer like that.

At the age of five, he already accepted the fact that he was unlike any other people he knew. Izuku was born, belonging to a tiny group of people who did not possess any quirk whatsoever. Quirks are a special ability that once only existed in comic books and movies. Since a child was born glowing somewhere around China years ago, abilities like laser eye, iron body, or super speed became a norm, and Izuku has none of that.

Initial research shows that at least 20 percent of humanity did not possess any quirk whatsoever. But the latest census further decreased that number to a single percent. Turns out that the other 19 percent possess either a late growth spurt or require an external force or a life-threatening situation for their quirk to activate.

Unfortunately, Izuku belongs to the single percent who have not even a single ounce of a quirk in his DNA even when both of his parents do possess quirk on their own. Because of that, he became an easy target for bullying, especially from his once best friend now turned tormentor, Bakugo.

With a quirk that could create explosions from his palm with his nitroglycerin sweat, Bakugo was easily looked upon to be in the fast track as a hero, a group of elite men and women dedicating their lives to protect and save while receiving both honor, fame, and money for their effort.

With his explosive quirk and nature, Bakugo decided to prey upon Izuku once he realized how weak his former friend had become due to his quirklessness.

Like any other day, Izuku became a punching bag for Bakugou and his friends for their so-called practice for when they became a hero and had to fight villains. What made it worse was that due to his status as a minority, the teachers and those around him often look the other way when the bullying happens.

"You know, you are going to catch a cold if you continue laying down there," said a voice, breaking Izuku out from his inner thought. He turned and saw an old man slowly walking towards him.

"How long do you want to spend laying down there moping?" the old man added. Izuku slowly turned his attention back to the starry sky, only for his forehead to be tapped by a cane.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

"Well not as hurt as other wounds you're suffering am I right?" Izuku just nodded.

The old man stared at the boy, looking from top to bottom. Izuku didn't know what was colder, the windy night, or the man's cold and calculating brown eyes.

"Let me guess," said the old man. "You are quirkless, dreaming of being a hero but instead, you became a punching bag of someone stronger than you while no one came for help?"

"Ye...Ye...yes sir."

"Follow me."

"Huh?"

"I said, follow me!"

The small boy quickly took his oversized bag and ran towards the old man. Izuku was surprised, he considered himself to be quite fast, a result that he gained from his daily exercise of running away from the bully, and yet, it was a challenge for him to catch up with the older man.

"Where are we going, sir?"

"There's a grocery shop ahead of us that sells some bandages and some other stuff. We don't want your wound to get infected, do we?"

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a small shop and the old man told Izuku to wait for him. After a few more minutes, the old man came out with a grocery bag and they both headed towards a small park where the old man cleaned Izuku's wounds and patched the boy up.

"Why are you doing this sir?"

"Do what?"

"This," said Izuku as he pointed his finger to a bandaged wound. "I'm just a quirkless boy. No one you should care about.'

The old man didn't immediately answer Izuku 's question like he did before. He stared at the boy and then smiled. "I too am a quirkless boy. So, of course, we had to stick together."

"You...you are quirkless too?"

"Yes. Yes, I am?"

"Then how …how did you survive?"

The old man's smile turns to a grin. He knew what the boy meant. It was a common fact that the quirkless was treated terribly that most commit suicide before they reach 18 years old. So, to meet an old man who was quirkless was a rarity. "Well, I..."

The old man was suddenly interrupted when an empty can suddenly come flying and almost hit him at the head. Izuku was surprised by it and when he turned his attention to where the projectile came from, he saw a group of what seemed to be three individuals that looked like they were not there for a good intention.

"Look what we have here boys, a quirkless boy, and his grandpa!" said one of the thugs on the left.

"What. How? How did you know?" asked Izuku nervously. He was terrified but when he looked at the old man, he was surprised at how calm he was.

"You see my boy, my buddy here has a quirk called Data Eyes," said the thugs in the middle that seemed like the leader." Once he looks at a person, he can easily know about the person's quirk. Since it was showing empty for both of you, it means that you are quirkless."

All three began to laugh and that terrified Izuku even worse.

"What do you want?" asked the old man.

Instead of answering the question, the last thug performed a kicking motion, and something flew towards the old man's head, only for it to miss for a couple of millimeters.

"You got a good reflex old man, for you to be able to avoid my Air Kick!" said the thug. "As for what we want, well we are cleaning the streets from the quirkless trash like you. Hahahahahaha."

Izuku's mind was racing as fast as he could. Can he run? Should he run and leave the old man alone? Is he even fast enough? Can he even move? Will he survive?

Tears began to pool from Izuku's eyes when he felt a hand on his head. It was the old man and even then, he still looked calm.

"Have no fear my boy. You know what? You asked me how I survive as a quirkless old man. How about I show you how instead."

"But..but...sir!"

"Hush hush, let me show you what this old man can do."

"You hear that guys? This old man wants to teach us a lesson!" laughed the leaders, who were joined by his peers.

"Hey boy, have you ever read Sun Tzu's The Art of War?" asked the old man, only for Izuku to say no. "Well here is a crash course."

In a flash, the old man disappeared from his place and reappeared next to the thugs. The old man stood tall whereas the thug with the eye quirk was already on the ground, several feet away at the back.

"Sun Tzu said 'You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended'" added the old man. "So, find the enemy's weakness and attack there, and he also said, 'Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.'"

"Wha..what!" said both the thugs and Izuku, surprised. The thug with the kicking quirk immediately fires off kicks from a long distance.

The old man quickly ran away. Or so they thought. He moves left and right in a disordered pattern, contradicting the image of an old man that he was. The attack was all useless as the old man was able to maneuver himself and avoid the attack as if they were moving like turtles. In a few moments, he was already in front of the kicking thug

"Sun Tzu said 'Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder and crush him!'" added the old man as he delivered a knockout punch to the thug's stomach.

"Two down, one more to go."

"What the fuck are you!" screamed the last thug. He slowly crept backward. How the table has turned. Both Izuku and the old man can sense the fear rolling from me. He began to scream again as the old man walked towards him.

"Stop! Don't you dare come to me!" Seeing that the old man didn't stop, he activated his quirk, and immediately, his body began to cloak in a fire. "Well, see if you can touch me now! This is my Flame Armour and no kick or punch can reach me unless you want to burn yourself to charred!"

The old man didn't move. He stares at the burning thug with an indifferent emotion in his eyes. Like before, he suddenly disappeared and reappeared on top of the last thug and delivered a mighty kick on his head, knocking the thug out.

"And finally, Sun Tzu said 'in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.' His body may be on fire, but his head wasn't."

Izuku was speechless. In less than a minute, the old man was able to utterly destroy the three thugs with quirks.

"You..you said you are quirkless!"

"Yeah, I did. So?"

"But what you did just now...How? What quirk did you use!"

"Well, as I told you, I'm quirkless like you."

"A quirkless did that?" screamed Izuku, pointing his finger to the three unconscious thugs on the ground.

The old man simply laughed, and he rolled his right sleeve. Izuku was surprised to see how toned he was. He was amazed that underneath the yukata was a body, similar to the gods chiseled by the ancient Greeks.

"So boy," called the old man, flexing his muscles and finger. "Do you want to learn how to survive?"


	2. Chapter 2

Izuku woke up feeling as if something was amiss. He tried to concentrate on what it was but for five years old, the five years old cabbage hair found it difficult to think what was different.

**There's no need to fear, I am here! There's no need to fear, I am here!**

Izuku almost jumped in surprise when his All Might alarm clock rang. He quickly shut it off, only to realize that his scrawny hand was riddled with bandages. It was at that moment that Izuku realized of the encounter that he had yesterday.

'Was it real?' he thought. 'But the bandages mean it was real. But why was it already healed?'

The boy's mind, and mouth, were running at a very quick pace. It was only after a while he remembered one of the big questions, how did he end up in his bed when his last memory was staring at the old man flexing his muscles after kicking the thugs' asses to the ground.

"Izuku! Are you awake?"

"Mom!"

The door opened and a plump housewife's face pokes from the opening. She looks ecstatic and it took her no time jumping and snuggling her son.

"Oh my god, Izuku! I cannot believe you finally woke up! I thought I was going to lose you!"

"What? Mom?'

"No matter what I did, you didn't wake up. I was afraid that you won't ever wake up!"

"Mom?" Izuku finally realized where he inherited his mumbling issue. "Mom!"

It took him a while until the boy was able to console his mother.

"What happened, mom? How long have I been asleep?"

"You have been sleeping for a week Izuku. A few nights ago, an old man came in and told me that he found you on the ground. After he patched you up, he brought you here based on your emergency card."

"A week? I have been sleeping for a week!"

"Yes, I tried to bring you to the doctor but all they said is that you are only sleeping. But you slept for a week! I was so worried about you. Are you...are you okay?"

Izuku did some small stretches. A few movements on his shoulders, a twist and turns with his waist, some wiggling with his other limbs. "I'm fine really...In fact I'm feeling great!"

Inko was glad that her son seems fine. But she still concerns him that she immediately brought the boy for a health checkup after breakfast. At the clinic, like what Izuku proclaimed, even the doctor gave them a clean bill for Izuku's health. All the wounds in his body were totally healed. After paying the bills, the mother and son start to walk back home.

"Izuku, can I ask what actually happened?" voiced Inko, breaking the silence.

"I... erm...It was an accident."

"Please don't lie to me Izuku. You are a bad liar, remember."

Izuku simply nodded.

"Was it Bakugo?"

Izuku's head immediately snapped towards Inko. "No... It's...I'm sure it was an accident."

"Izuku!" screamed Inko. She tried to look angry, but her eyes were telling otherwise. It cried concern and sadness. "Please be honest with me Izuku, is it Bakugou again?"

Izuku nodded again. He could feel his mother's grip begin to tighten. He knew that she too felt useless for his situation. It was not the first time it happened. In fact, it has been a repetitive occurrence but every time Inko tried to lodge a complaint or two, it was left as it was, complaints and nothing were done to Bakugo, simply because her son was a quirkless.

The woman immediately kneeled and hugged her son. "I'm sorry Izuku. I'm sorry for being a bad mom. For birthing you without a quirk."

Seeing his mom distraught, the boy enveloped Inko with his own hands. "It's not your fault mom. You already did your best. I can't thank you enough."

"But...I feel so useless."

"I know how you feel but please mom, it was never your fault," consoled Izuku. "Mom, did the old man that dropped me left anything?"

Inko simply said yes. Turns out the old man left a card with his phone number and his name, Asahi. After calling the old man, both Izuku and Inko took a taxi to the given address and arrived at a large old Japanese style house. They were greeted by the old man that led them to the living room.

"Thank you, sir! For what you did," bowed the mother and son.

"Hahahaha it was nothing. As I told Izuku, us quirkless people need to help each other."

"Sir," called Inko, "My son told me that you asked him if he wants you to train him how to survive. Is it...is it true?"

"Yes, I did Inko," answered the old man, who then turned towards Izuku. "Tell me Izuku, what is your goal?"

"My goal?"

"Yes, your goal. Every person has a goal in their life. Some want to be rich. Some want to be famous or a hero or a celebrity. Some want to help other people and even there are those like me, someone who likes to relax and be free to do whatever he wants. So, what is yours?"

"My...I... I used to want to be a hero, like All Might. I want to save people with a smile on my face, telling the world that there's no need to fear because I am here. But know...I just...I just want to survive."

"So, you no longer want to be a hero?"

"I... actually I still do. But how can I be one while I'm quirkless?"

The old man didn't answer him. He simply laughed, stood up and walked towards a huge boulder that was on the lawn. "Izuku boy, remember what I show you on that night?"

Izuku nodded.

"Well, what I showed was just the tip of the iceberg. A drop of water if you compare it to a lake and this, this is what you can achieve!" With a fast jab with his right knuckles, the large boulder immediately turned to pebbles. It was utterly obliterated.

The mother and son were both wide-eyed, mouth wide open. They couldn't believe what they had witnessed. The boulder was at least the size of a small car and yet, it was nothing when faced with the old man.

"What did you know about the time before quirks?" asked the old man.

"I..er...huh?" Both Izuku and Inko were still shocked by the old man's power.

"Hahahaha you see Izuku, Inko, before the time of quirks, there were already rumours and myths about men performing wonders like walking on water, moving at the speed of sound, destroying boulders with a punch and many more. And from what you had seen so far, I am sure you now realized that they were no myth or legend."

"But how. How can a quirkless person do something like that?"

"You both underestimate the power that lies inside a human body. Before the age of quirk, stories such as an ordinary housewife lifting cars to save her child, or someone jumping at a great distance to save himself were a common thing. This shows that humanity has always had a great power inside them and through training, especially martial art, one can access that power."

"What about those with quirk? Can they learn it too?"

"Yes and no." Seeing the confused look on his two guests, the old man added, "Yes, the can. But only a portion of it. Most of those hidden powers turn into quirks. Think of it like this, this power is like the electricity that runs around the house or inside the battery. It powers the light, the tv and the washing machine. Those with quirks are like a toy car with the battery in them. They can use the electricity to power their engine, their quirk, to move the engine and nothing more. But for us, the quirkless, we don't have any engine, light or anything that requires electricity. The energy in our body is raw and we can use them in multiple ways instead of the one way those with quirk use, via their quirk."

"So you want to teach me how to use this...electric?"

"Well not electric. This energy was called qi and yes I do and so much more."

"But why sir?" asked Inko. "Why Izuku?"

"Again, as I told you, us quirkless must stick together. Do you know how many quirkless there are in Japan? And this knowledge needs to be passed down. I am already old, remember. If I don't pass it, it will disappear once I die." laughed the old man. "Plus, as I told you, I'm the person who does what I want to do."

Sensing the sincerity in the old man's voice, Izuku couldn't hold his tears anymore. For the first time since he discovered that he was quirkless, help was there in front of him. He felt like he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel that he had been travelling in. "When can we start sir?"

"We already did."

"Huh?"

"before I sent you home last week, I did some acupuncture on your body to help you feel and control your qi. Can you feel the difference?"

"Now that you say that, I did feel something was different with my body. It feels lighter and I feel

more energized."

"Well, that is the first clue that you are quirkless and my 'treatment' works!"

"So, are you saying that...I can be a hero?" Even Inko looked at the old man with tons of hope in her eyes.

"Hahahahahahaha, Izuku Midoriya. Are you ready to be the first quirkless hero?"

"YES, SIR!"

"Well prepare for hell my boy, hahahahahahahaha!"

"Erk...what!"


	3. Chapter 3

Izuku Midoriya was in pain.

No. Scratch that. He passed the pain level an hour ago. All he's feeling at that moment is agony and numbness. Who knew that a simple squat can be that much of a pain.

Yes, a simple squat. Except it was done for almost two hours straight, without stopping.

Oh how much Izuku wishes to stop squatting. He's willing to sell all of his All Might collectibles if it means that he could stop squatting. But the old man would never allow that

Hell, due to the weird contraception that Izuku was forced to wear, any rest will result in painful electrocution.

'5...4...3…,' he counted. "2...1. Done!"

Upon screaming, he immediately collapsed to the ground as the contraception unlocked and stopped functioning. The boy was panting. The floor was wet from his sweat. It was uncomfortable, his position that is, but he could not move at all. Not even an inch.

"Well it seems that you are still alive after all," called a voice from afar. "Congratulations I guess. You have a stronger mental strength than I thought."

'This is child abuse,' Izuku tried to say but he couldn't say it clearly because his mouth was muffled via a mask.

_**Flashback**_

_Both the old man and Izuku were sitting in the middle of the dojo area. In between them, was an open scroll with few drawings in it._

"_Now listen here Izuku, the art that I'm about to teach you is called the Fist of Wu Xing. Chinese for elements" lectured the old man. "It is built upon years and years of trial and error of combining multiple martial arts into one. It requires a great foundation on both mental strength and physical strength."_

_The old man halted his lecture. He was presented with a real-life image of Izuku mumbling about combining martial arts, MMA, kung fu, etc._

_A few seconds turned to a few minutes, and after almost ten minutes listening to the boy's constant mumbling, the old man had enough._

"_Shut up!" he screamed. Next thing Izuku knew, his face was kissing the floor while a large bruise began to form on top of his head._

"_What the hell old man!"_

"_Shut up and listen for awhile! Sigh," He began to rub his forehead. 'This will be a headache.'_

"_Now, your mom had warned me about this but I never knew it was this severe. You need to stop with your mumbling and outer monologue."_

"_But..but how can I think otherwise?"_

"_You think with your brain, not your mouth!"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Now listen to me, there is a reason why men are created with three parts of the brain, two ears, and one mouth. It is so that we think the most, and listen more than we speak."_

_The boy simply nodded._

"_In fact, if you start thinking with your brain, not your mouth, you will learn that you can achieve the same conclusion twice if not ten times faster."_

_Izuku nodded again._

"_Now can you do it?"_

"_I...er...I don't know."_

_The old man felt like giving a slap on his face. He stayed quiet for a moment before he left for a different room, only to return with a face mask. "Now I want you to wear this. It will keep your mouth shut and I don't want you to take it off unless you are drinking or eating."_

"_What about the shower?"_

"_Even during a shower."_

"_But!"_

"_Listen to me Izuku, wear that thing...now!" The boy immediately complied. "Not just it will train you to shut up, an important skill for a martial artist, it will also train your breathing and stamina."_

"_It will?"_

"_Are you the master here or I am?"_

**Back to present**

Izuku had just finished his meditation, an exercise that the old man insisted he does for almost every free time he got that was not used for training or learning.

The old man took almost the entire day to explain the method to Izuku but the boy still couldn't make his mind calm enough for it to be called a meditation.

Standing in front of Izuku, the old man had just finished placing 5 logs in a line, probably for a demonstration, thought Izuku.

"Now listen here boy, the art that I'm about to teach you is called The FIst of Wu Xing," he lectured. "It is the Chinese for five elements; fire, water, earth, wood, and steel."

Izuku tried to raise his voice but the mask plus a finger flick on his forehead courtesy of the old man stopped him.

"Now listen here, allow me to finish my words first. You had a bad habit of letting your mind run without letting people finish up their words. Not only is it creepy, but it is also disrespectful too, do you hear that?!"

Izuku simply nodded sheepishly.

"Now each of the elements represents a different style. But before we go into that, you need to know about the basics of this art first. You see, usually, when humans use their body to attack, they use the energy inside their body to attack. Few who trained in a martial art can actually harness the energy from the earth to amplify their attack, but what they can do is just a drop of water compared to our martial art. We, with enough training in your case, can fully utilize the energy to strengthen our body and our attacks way beyond human logic and biology, minus the quirk factor. Any questions?"

"Well, how do we, or I use this energy...and what does this energy actually be?" muffled Izuku.

"I'll answer the second question first. Everything in this universe has its own energy, their own life. Even the earth that we live in is alive and produces its own energy. Mana, aura, chakra, chi, or qi, they are all one and the same. I called it qi."

The old man continued his lecture as Izuku's mind began to absorb everything like a sponge. True to his sensei's word, once he shut up his mouth and used his head instead, he can digest things at a much faster speed.

The Fist of Wu Xing, the art of the Earth energy, and the five elements. The old man added that with the right acupuncture and some "modification" that he did which the boy didn't dare to ask, and since he is very new, the energy, once he's capable to harness it, might not be much. His attack will mostly be powered up 99% from himself and only 1% from the surrounding. Although small, that 1% can bring a huge difference in terms of power and damage. For example, if a regular person can use this skill, a 3% intake of natural energy can easily create a crack on a boulder, and potentially more to the human body.

Izuku was feeling down when the old man told him that he might be able to start with 1%, but, with time and training plus a stronger body and mental discipline, he will be capable of harnessing more.

"Sensei," called Izuku, raising his hand? The boy waited for permission to continue. He didn't want another knock on his head. "What about those styles that you mentioned before?"

"Well, that is easy. Let's start with fire since it is the simplest one to explain," smiled the old man. "The way of fire means simply attacking in pure form. Punching, kicking, hell even headbutt if you need it. Think of muay Thai, or boxing, or even karate. There are techniques on how to punch properly to deliver impact, and pain to your opponent. The same with Fist of Wu Xing, there are methods, or kata, on how to properly punch and kick your enemy without harming yourself." The old man then walked towards the first log, and he immediately punched it, totally obliterating the target.

"Now for water. Like its name, it is about flow, about movement. Your body needs to be flexible and with the way of water, you will attack via grappling. Think of wrestling or judo." He moved to the second log. Izuku gazed with wide eyes as the old man's move like a snake, hugging the log before it was destroyed from the stress that it was forced upon.

"The way of the earth is somehow the opposite of the way of water. Instead of nimbleness, you must have a solid body and instead of attacking like the way of fire where it was external, the damage done was internal. " It was only a light tap, but the target, like the rest, too was destroyed. "Have you ever read the manga Naruto?"

Izuku simply nodded. It was an old manga and the series ended way before the boy was born. Nevertheless, he read the story online and even bought a couple of printed books.

"That is easy then. The way of the earth is similar to the Gentle Fist used by the Hyuugas in that manga. Hell, I bet that Kishimoto guy learned from a practitioner and decided to use it in his story!"

"What about the other two sensei?"

"Well, for the way of wood, it is like a combination of the way of water and the way of earth. You need a solid foundation, far stronger than the way of earth, yet, you need to learn when to bend and be nimble. Kind of like a bamboo tree, when the wind blows strong, it sways, preventing it from breaking, and yet, the roots are deep implanted inside the earth. As for this one, instead of using the energy from inside you, you use your opponent's energy and momentum to attack. Like a counter in boxing." The old man threw the log up and fisted his hand in the air. Within a moment, the log fell from gravity and landed on his fist and it too was destroyed.

"Now as for the last one, the way of steel. Like the name, steel is hard, and so will your body in this path. You can use it as a defense to combine with the way of wood or to increase your offense with the way of fire or any way you see fit. But, apart from strengthening your body, you can even do this," in a blink of an eye, the final log was cut into a lot of tiny boxes. "Using speed, technique, and a hardened body, you can turn your limbs into a blade."

Izuku was beyond awed. If this was presented days ago, he would have thought that the old man in front of him has something like a body strengthening quirk or even multiple quirks altogether. The fact that all of those were done without quirk but rather martial art, the same one that he's about to learn was making his mind overloaded.

"Which one will I be learning sensei?" asked Izuku, only to receive another knock in his head.

"Are you deaf boy, you are my apprentice now, the one next in line to inherit The Fist of Wu Xing! Of course, you're gonna learn everything!"

"E...e...everything?"

"Yes, everything," the old man grinned. Izuku simply gulped. It will be a painful memory. A very painful one.


	4. Chapter 4

The end of the school bell rang and Izuku began his daily routine of running away from Bakugou and his bully friends. It had been about a month, give and take a few days, since Izuku began his training and he could already see the result. Before, he would easily be overwhelmed by the bullies and later getting his daily punches, kicks, and even the occasional explosion blast from Bakugou for his "hero training."

Yet, after spending the rest of his summer vacation training with sensei, his strengthened body could easily outrun his tormentor. At first, the boy believes that his ex-friend will stop after losing him for the third day, but it seemed that it only motivated Bakugao to catch Izuku.

"I'm home!" said Izuku as he entered the traditional Japanese house, and was immediately greeted by his mother Inko, carrying what seemed to be tea.

"Oh Izuku, come, you just in time for tea," replied Inko. "Come, I also made some mochi to go with it."

"I'll go and change first mom," smiled Izuku and he immediately went to his room down the hall.

_**Flashback**_

_Izuku was at the training ground, punching the training post while in a horse stance and weights all over his body. Sensei could see that the boy was crying while he was doing it. But no pain, no gain. The old man's musing was interrupted when he heard a call. He turned and it was Inko._

"_Good evening sensei, how was my son's training?"_

"_Ah, good evening Inko-san, come and have tea with me," replied the man, pouring some into an empty cup._

"_Thank you sensei and oh by the way," Inko immediately presented a wrapped box. "I made some Katsudon for dinner so I thought you might want some too."_

"_Well thank you Inko-san. From what your son told me, your katsudon was something worth dying for."_

"_It was nothing sensei, I simply learned it from my workplace. We serve tons of katsudon and it is Izuku's favorite."_

"_Do you mind if I eat it now? The last time I ate was lunch yesterday since I needed to catch up with my novel" seeing the woman nodded, the old man immediately began to devour the food. "Wow, this is great Inko-san. Thank you for the meal!"_

_Inko smiled and she immediately lowered her head towards the old man. "No, it was I who should thank you sensei."_

"_I'm sorry?"_

"_I...was not a good mother," tears began to pool around her eyes. "As a mother, I should support my son's dream and yet, not once did I believe in him. But you, you give him hope sensei."_

_The old man sat in silence. He slowly raised his hand and placed it on Inko's shoulder. "You know, Izuku really took a lot from you."_

"_Pardon me sensei?" asked Inko, confused._

"_Both of you always blame yourselves, even when it is not your fault. You both have little to no self-confidence," Asahi placed the empty box at his side. Inko was surprised that the three-set that she brought were all gone in the blink of an eye. "But, deep down you both are a fighter. You never give up to fate. Each day you fight and survive. You are strong Inko-san. So too is your son."_

_Inko couldn't hold it any longer. She began to sob silently. "But I...I never support him."_

"_You raised him did you not? Even when your husband leaves after learning of Izuku's quirkless status, you stay with your son. You work hard to feed him, educate him, love him," Asahi's eyes gazed sharply at his young student as the boy continued punching the post with bleeding fists and teary eyes... "You don't need a word to tell that you support a person, Inko-san. You've done more than that with your act. I know it, and I'm sure even Izuku knows it."_

"_Thank you sensei...thank you so much."_

_Both the old man and the boy's mother continue staring at the boy practicing in silence. The only sounds that can be heard were the twack from Izuku's punching and the sob made by the boy when he tried to hold, or failing to do so, his tears of pain. It wasn't long before the alarm clock began to ring, indicating that the training time was over. Hearing that, Izuku promptly freezes before his body crashes on the ground, exhausted._

_Inko immediately ran to her son to check upon him. The boy simply lay still on the ground, panting hard as his mask prevented him from breathing in air properly._

"_Inko-san, Izuku, why don't you stay here for good?" asked Asahi out of nowhere, surprising the mother and son duo. "Listen, this house is huge, more than enough for the three of us. By staying here, Izuku doesn't have to commute every day for his training."_

"_Thank you sensei but my job. It is very far from here."_

"_Ah yes, as for your job, why don't you work here, cooking and cleaning this place?"_

"_But...but?"_

"_Listen here Inko-san, I'm not really an organized person nor am I diligent. You've seen yourself how messy this place is. As for money, I have a lot. Paying you handsomely will be a drop in a bucket to my finances. Plus with Izuku now being my student, I take it upon myself to take care of you too."_

_Inko turned and faced his son, who only showed his big excited eyes. "Yes, I accept sensei."_

"_Well then, I'll be in your care then Inko-san," smiled Asahi. His grin then turns wider and more sinister as he looks at his student. "And Izuku, that means more training time for you."_

_It was at that moment Izuku could feel his soul temporarily leave his body and head towards Nirvana._

_**End flashback**_

It took them a week but that was how the Midoriya began to live with the old man. They rented out their old apartment to a newlywed couple and saved the rent for a rainy day.

Izuku's life turns to hell, figuratively but almost literally. Apart from the minimum 8 hours of sleep that the old man insists he has, as well as schooling time, and a few meal/toilet time here and there, the rest of his time was spent on training.

The five years old left his room, fully equipped in his training gi and he immediately ran towards the training area, only to see his mother down on the floor, and Asahi was fighting an old woman, both covered in blood.

Izuku immediately sees red and with a loud livid scream, he jumps and begins his assault on the old woman.


End file.
